The UAE on Tuesday took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council as the Ukraine crisis escalated.
The UAE’s ambassador to the UN, Lana Nusseibeh, is set to meet envoys from the council’s 14 other members in New York at 12pm for a schedule of meetings for the coming month.
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She will later brief journalists about the council’s agenda and provide details about the signature events the UAE will convene as well as a wide-ranging debate on the protection of women in war zones.
Talks in March are set to be dominated by Russia’s air, sea and land invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Vasily Nebenzya, the UN ambassador for Russia, which held the council presidency throughout February, said he expected the UAE to lead the UN’s top body.
READ ON: UAE formally joins UN Security Council
“We expect that the UAE will uphold the integrity of the office of the presidency and that it will be conducted in a smooth way,” said Nebenzya.
The UAE, Albania, Brazil, Gabon and Ghana joined the UN council for two-year terms beginning on January 1 and they can take part in meetings, vote on resolutions and help draft official statements.
Members take turns in alphabetical order to hold the council’s presidency each month, during which they manage the agenda, preside over meetings and decide on topics for debate and the Security Council has 10 seats for temporary members, but it is dominated by its five permanent members — Russia, China, the US, Britain and France — which hold the power of veto.
